A Natural History of Love: Author of the National Bestseller a Natural History of the Senses

Diane Ackerman has written many interesting books and this one is especially well researched. She begins the book with stories of Egypt and Cleopatra and then explores the topic of Medieval Knights and the truth about courtly love. She illustrates her points lavishly and unlike many of her other books, she stays close to her main topic with minimal diversions. Although when discussing Freud she can't help herself and she seems to feel compelled to tell his whole life story. The story of Abelard and Heloise is sad but well told. Diane sheds light on many of the famous love stories of the past. In the first half of the book she deals mostly with romantic love and then she takes various journeys into specific types of love. The love of cars, horses and flying is interesting but she reaches her most poetic explanations when she talks about kissing. There is also interesting information on courtship, marriage, religious love, men and mermaids, the evolution of the face, divorce, aphrodisiacs and modern love. This book will intrigue you if you enjoy knowing interesting facts, like the origin of the wedding dress or why an X symbolizes a kiss. This book also has some good information on oxytocin and phenylethylamine. Diane Ackerman also gives insight into mental illness when she says: "The mentally ill are people who cannot regulate the conflicting emotions they feel." Since I believe in creation I did get weary of the constant references to evolution, however the book is worth reading no matter what you believe. ~The Rebecca Review

Lorenz Hart wrote, "I wish I were in love again." "Let's do it, let's fall in love," advised Cole Porter. No other subject has inspired as many songs, poems, books or plays as ever appealing, sometimes elusive love. And here is Diane Ackerman to tell us all about it. "Love is the great intangible" is the way this volume begins, and it is equally unfathomable after we finish reading, but there's much information and great good fun in between. Beginning with the history of love in ancient Egypt through Rome, the Middle Ages and up to the present, the author explores the historical, cultural and biological roots of that which makes the world go round. Rich with insights into traditions and little known facts, "Love's Customs" may well be one of the most fascinating chapters. For instance, it was the medieval Italians who favored diamond rings because "of their superstition that diamonds were created from the flames of love." Soldiers of ancient Sparta hosted the first stag parties. The white wedding dress was first won by Anne of Brittany in 1499 when she married Louis XII of France. Both bride and groom wore a blue band around the bottom of their wedding garments in biblical times, which is where the idea of the bride's "something blue" originated. "A Natural History of Love" is a rare literary work in that it is both a well researched scholarly text, terrific reading, and offers an insight that probably applies to each one of us. - Gail Cooke

This book is amazing. If you haven't read Ackerman before, I suggest starting with _A Natural History of the Senses_. Then read this book. Ackerman is a very talented writer. Even if the subject isn't entirely interesting, her words and their rhythms are. This subject, however, is very interesting. Ackerman muses on myths (such as Dido) and history (such as Napoleon and Josephine), but also explores instincts and preferences (why women love horses and the influence of pheromones). This book is romantic, historical, sexual, poetic, challenging, and completely beautiful.

I first heard Diane Ackerman talking about this book on an NPR talkshow. I was so impressed that I went out and bought a copy that day. I was not disappointed. Ackerman's human, non-academic yet poetic style is immediately accessible and almost hynotic at times. Coupled with an interesting, universal subject matter, it makes this a book worth reading and reading again. Closing this book is, in many ways, like closing the door on a love affair: you wish it wouldn't end, but you have fond memories. The plus with this book is that you can do it all over again, and again, and again.

A Natural History of Love is just that. A wonderfull collection of the past 3000 years of love. The interesting parts of this book are sometimes what you will learn about historical figures that you have read about in thier profession, but not in thier private life. The author is very well educated, and her education, flair, and soul is put into her writing. This book is for any history lover, or for any lover in general